Study Highlights the Need for Integrated Mental Health Tools in Value-Based GI Care at the Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Conference
New Data From SonarMD Finds that Anxiety Increases Risks for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Flares and Disease Severity
Jessica Daitch, JLD Communications, LLC
Jessica@jldcommunications.com
917-816-6712
SonarMD, the leading value-based care (VBC) platform for complex, chronic gastrointestinal conditions, today presented new clinical findings describing the association between anxiety and increased risk for flares and higher disease severity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), emphasizing the importance of integrating mental health support within VBC models for IBD management. This poster was shared at the Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (AIBD) conference in Orlando, FL (Dec. 9-11, 2024).
The study analyzed data from patients enrolled in SonarMD’s care coordination platform, which integrates proactive patient engagement, disease activity monitoring, and risk stratification, acting as an extension of the gastroenterology practice. The results underscore the heightened burden of anxiety and its clinical implications.
Study Highlights:
- Prevalence of Anxiety Symptoms: Among 643 IBD patients, 11.8% screened positive for symptoms of anxiety (GAD-2 score ?3).
- Comorbid Depression: Anxiety symptoms were associated with a fivefold increase in depressive symptoms, with 49% of symptomatically anxious patients also meeting criteria for depression (PHQ-2 score ?3).
- Disease Severity: Patients with anxiety symptoms were significantly more likely to have high disease severity at baseline, with 42% categorized in the top quintile of disease risk compared to 15% of non-anxious symptom patients.
- Increased Risk of Flares: Over a six-month follow-up, patients with anxiety exhibited a nearly doubled flare rate (25%) compared to non-anxious counterparts (13%).
“These findings demonstrate that mental health factors like anxiety play a critical role in the clinical course of IBD,” said Beth Houck, CEO, SonarMD “By identifying and addressing psychological contributors, we can refine value-based care models to better support patients with chronic digestive diseases. Integrated care models that incorporate mental health screening and interventions should be considered a standard for high-quality IBD care.”
The data reinforces the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to IBD management within VBC frameworks, where mental health support complements physical health monitoring. SonarMD has a scalable VBC model in place that seamlessly incorporates mental health tools to support comprehensive patient care and improve patient outcomes.
SonarMD will present this data today, December 11th at the AIBD conference, held at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida.
About AIBD
Coordinated by HMP Global, the omnichannel market leader in healthcare events, education, and insight—with a mission to improve patient care, AIBD welcomes all members in the IBD field, including gastroenterologists, nurses, physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare professionals, to take part in the event. AIBD attracts more than 2,500 participants annually, for a 3-day meeting featuring more than 75 leading IBD experts sharing 100+ educational sessions. For more information or to register, visit hmpglobalevents.com/aibd.
About SonarMD
SonarMD aligns incentives around the doctor-patient relationship to reimagine care for complex chronic GI diseases. Using predictive analytics and human support, the SonarMD digital platform identifies clinical deterioration and makes it easier for patients and specialists to proactively address problems before they become health emergencies. In addition to symptoms tracking, patients have access to holistic health programs, including diet and nutrition counseling, emotional health services, and sleep improvement interventions that improve their overall quality of care for services that traditionally can be difficult to get reimbursed. For more information, visit SonarMD.com.
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